Biden Makes Unusual Promise Before End of Term: ‘I’m Not Going Anywhere’

Biden Makes Unusual Promise Before End of Term: ‘I’m Not Going Anywhere’

President Biden assured a South Carolina church congregation on Sunday that he intends to stay involved in public life after his presidency, declaring, “I’m not going anywhere.”

During his final full day in office, Biden visited Charleston, S.C., where he spoke at the Royal Missionary Baptist Church as part of an early Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration.

Discussing clemency, Biden praised his own record, asserting that he had granted more individual pardons and commutations than “any other president in American history.” He also reiterated his goal to “end the federal death penalty” by converting most sentences to life in prison without parole, though this move was met with sharp criticism and concern.

Biden further explained that he had reduced sentences for individuals who were allegedly “serving disproportionately hard, long, and harsh sentences for nonviolent drug offenses.” He emphasized that he had shown “mercy” to those who had already served significant time and demonstrated “significant remorse and rehabilitation.”

“These decisions are difficult. Some have never been done before, but, in my experience, with my conscience, I believe taking together justice and mercy requires as a nation to bear witness, to see people’s pain, not to look away and do the work, to move pain to purpose, to show we can get a person, a nation, to a day of redemption,” Biden said, according to Fox News. “We know the struggle to redeem the soul of this nation is difficult and ongoing.”

“This is the shore between peril and possibility. But faith, faith teaches us the America of our dreams is always closer than we think. That’s the faith we must hold on to for the Saturdays to come. We must hold on a hope. We must stay engaged. Must always keep the faith in a better day to come,” he added.

In an unexpected statement, he then proclaimed: “I’m not going anywhere. I’m not kidding… The people in South Carolina, thank you for keeping the faith. It’s been the honor of my life to serve as your president.”

WATCH:

Biden also seemed to respond to ongoing speculation regarding his cognitive state, which has now been acknowledged by several media sources.

“As I close out this journey with you, I’m just as passionate about our work as I was as a 29-year-old kid when I got elected,” Biden stated. “I’m in no ways tired.”

A recent report suggests that those closest to Biden were aware of his struggles as president and took steps to shield him.

According to The New York Times, Biden’s aides noticed that he was not as sharp as he had been in previous years and attempted to support him in various ways.

“The people closest to President Biden were well aware that he had changed. He talked more slowly than he had just a few years before, needed to hoist himself out of his seat in the presidential limousine and walked with a halting gait,” the report stated.

One of Biden’s longtime advisers, Mike Donilon, reportedly told him in 2022 that his “biggest issue is the perception of age.”

Despite this, Biden chose to move forward with his reelection campaign the following year.

The Times further reported that aides “recognized his physical frailty to a greater degree than they have publicly acknowledged.” Interviews with over two dozen aides, allies, lawmakers, and donors suggested that efforts were made to manage these concerns.

“They rearranged meetings to make sure Mr. Biden was in a better mood — a strategy one person close to him described as how aides should handle any president. At times, they delayed sharing information with him, including negative polling data, as they debated the best way to frame it. They surrounded him with aides when he walked from the White House to the waiting presidential helicopter on the South Lawn so that news cameras could not capture his awkward bearing,” the report detailed.

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